recording artists of all time sharing her personal story, overcoming abuse, reinventing herself with a comeback that gave us unforgettable hits tonight, our tribute to a powerhouse that was simply the best. just breaking, ron desantis making it official, the florida governor taking to twitter to declare his candidacy for president, but not without some technical glitches how he plans to go up against donald trump the debt ceiling stalemate. negotiations back on eight days before a potential government default. the treasury secretary's new warning. the typhoon smashing into a u.s. territory with winds of 140 miles per hour. power out as we take stock of the damage. the way forward in uvalde one year after the mass shooting that killed 19 children and 2 teachers, we talk to the mothers in mourning target under pressure after threats to employees the retail giant pulling pride month merchandise.

merchandise. and, beachgoers, beware. the giant massive seaweed expected to wash up on pristine shores this summer >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt good evening, and welcome. as we come on the air on a busy wednesday, there is a lot to report, and we are going to start with the news that saddened many of us when it broke late today the death of the queen of rock 'n' roll, tina turner ♪ rolling, rolling, rolling on the river ♪ >> reporter: her spiked hair, signature stiletto heels and constant motion on stage helped make her an entertainment icon, but it was that gritty, soulful sound that completed the package earning tina turner a slew of grammy awards and helping carve an indelible mark across musical decades. her personal story as a marital abuse survivor seemingly made every note a soaring sound of triumph. ♪ left a good job in the city ♪

>> reporter: that powerful voice ♪ rolling, rolling, rolling down the river ♪ >> reporter: that electrifying dancing. ♪ pumped a lot of tan down in new orleans ♪ >> reporter: no wonder tina turner was known as the queen of rock 'n' roll. >> when i walk out onto the stage, it's one big, healthy party. that's the feeling, and that's what i always wanted. ♪ what's love got to do, got to do with it ♪ >> reporter: after an iconic career and life of hardship and resilience, the 83-year-old legend died today at her home in switzererland followowing a longng illnlness. born anna mae bullock in tennessee in 1939, turner was the daughter of sharecroppers. as a teenager, she was discovered by ike turner, who gave her that famous stage name >> ikey. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: in the '60s they performed together as the ike and tina turner review

♪ if i lost you would i cry ♪ >> reporter: but in their 16 years of marriage, ike's abuse was brutal and unrelenting. >> there was no control. there was no freedom you just get fed up, and you say, life is not worth living if i'm going to stay in this situation >> reporter: tina fled in 1976. she said she had just 36 cents a and a mobilile cacard to her r name, a scene re-c-created in n the 191993 biopic,c, "w"what's loveve got to dodo with it. >> i'm'm tina turnrner my husband and i just had a fight. ♪ you better be good to me ♪ >> reporter: it was after she broke free from ike, she truly became a superstar ♪ i'm your private dancer, a dancer for money ♪ >> i got to be known as a great performer i never tried to change my style because of any other style. i just stayed true to what i do. >> reporter: along the way, she won eight grammys and had six top ten hits, a super bowl halftime show

♪ because i know that i can live without you ♪ >> reporter: and a broadway musical about her life ♪ proud mary, keep on burning ♪ >> now i'm sitting there watching them do a show that it took me years to learn and do. [ laughter ] and here it took them a matter of months to master >> reporter: in a recent hbo documentary, turner reflecting on all she had been through. >> i had an abusive life there's no other way to tell the story. ♪ yeah, you're simply the best ♪ >> reporter: a survivor and performer, tina turner was simply one of the best >> i think i have something very special to do. it makes sense to me that i'm here for something more than my dancing and all of what i've done with my life ♪ you're the best ♪ and later in the broadcast, we'll remember much more of tina turner's legacy but right now,

let's turn to some developing news. just moments ago, florida governor ron desantis making it official announcing his run for president, but a scheduled appearance on twitter with elon musk not going off without a hitch, appearing to attract more listeners than the site could handle here's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: tonight, florida governor ron desantis announcing his run for president in this new ad >> we need the courage to lead and the strength to win. i'm ron desantis, and i'm running for president to lead our great american comeback >> reporter: but his new campaign also hitting a major technical snag with so many listeners tuning in for an audio announcement on twitter spaces with billionaire elon musk that it appeared to crash the site. >> all right, sorry about that we've got so many people here that i think we are kind of melting the servers. >> reporter: desantis now seen as republican front-runner, former president trump's toughest opponent. just five years ago trump's endorsement critical to desantis'

victory in his first run for governor he even touted it in this campaign ad with his kids >> make america great again. >> reporter: but the relationship later souring after desantis' landslide re-election win, he now argues he's the best pick to take on president biden. >> we must reject the culture ofof losing ththat has infefected our p party in r recent yearars. >> and stood for what was right. >> reporter: tonight, new details about how a pro-desantis super pac plans to do it, a staggering $200 million operating budget that includes hiring more than 2,600 field organizers by labor day, but desantis still trails trump by more than 25 points in many polls now in the state both men call home, a scramble for gop primary voters we met trump supporter, monique pope, an attorney, and mother of two. >> i believe president trump is the man that can bring us across the finish line. >> reporter: while desantis backer robert salvador told us he moved his construction software business from illinois to florida because the governor

removed covid restrictions early >> you know, we saw his leadership during covid when everyone was yelling at him, you know, across the country and around the world to shut down. >> and, gabe, regarding this rollout tonight, we're getting reaction about the apparent technical glitch in the announcement >> reporter: yes, that's right, lester moments ago a trump adviser told me this shows desantis is not ready to be president saying, quote, this is embarrassing, but moments ago, a senior desantis campaign official said that this shows the excitement surrounding his campaign broke the internet lester >> all right, gabe gutierrez, thank you the race to avoid a government default now coming down to the wire white house and republican negotiators meeting today with late word of some progress peter alexander has the latest >> reporter: tonight, an urgent new reminder of the fast approaching deadline before a potentially catastrophic default. treasury secretary janet yellen warning how little time is left for lawmakers to raise the debt limit allowing america to pay its bills. >> it seems almost

certain that we will not be able to get past early june. >> reporter: yellen saying she'll offer a more precise date to congress soon. late tonight house speaker kevin mccarthy saying, after today's negotiations, things are better than they were yesterday. still, the stalemate is largely over spending with house republicans demanding significant cuts, while white house officials say, they've offered to freeze current spending levels, but won't cut further to protect social programs. >> this is a manufactured crisis, plain and simple that's what we're seeing currently that's what we've been dealing with for the past couple of weeks. >> reporter: but republicans say the white house is not going far enough >> we have to spend less than we spent last year. it is not my fault that the democrats cannot give up on their spending >> reporter: just by going down to the wire, the economy is already at risk. in 2011 when the u.s. nearly avoided a default, the nation's credit rating was downgraded anyway, and major stocks lost nearly 20% lester.

>> all right, peter, thank you. a powerful typhoon has swept across the pacific island of guam hammering the u.s. territory with damaging winds and a dangerous storm surge. erin mclaughlin has late details >> reporter: overnight in guam, a massive typhoon pounding the island >> oh, wow >> reporter: winds up to 140 miles per hour tossing a pickup truck around like a toy, taking out chunks of the side of this resort >> what the heck >> reporter: and ripping through a hotel lobby. guest luis zamora didn't sleep at all last night. >> as you can see, we have a lot of damage >> reporter: he shows us a room too dangerous to stay in >> the rooms are unusable. as you can see, the building is moving back and forth. >> reporter: guests hunkering down in flooded hallways, water seeping through the ceiling. officials say it's even more dangerous out on the road. >> too many flying debris treetops are coming down, palm fronds, coconuts. >> reporter: typhoon

mawar is equivalent to a category 4 hurricane, the strongest to pass this close to the u.s. territory in more than 20 years >> we are at the crosshairs of typhoon mawar. take action now. >> reporter: the navy is sending in the "uss nimitz" carrier strike group to deal with the aftermath. tonight most of the island is without power, and officials say they're only just beginning to survey the damage erin mclaughlin, nbc news. one year ago today, the massacre in uvalde, texas, shook the country to its core a gunman killed 19 children and 2 teachers tom llamas just went back to uvalde where he spoke with their loved ones in a community that's been changed forever. >> reporter: in uvalde, texas, memories of the massacre are impossible to escape >> somedays i feel like it was just yesterday, but not being able to hold your daughter, give her a kiss, say, i

love you, it feels like an eternity, and just as the days go by, it gets much harder. >> reporter: one year later, loved ones of the 19 students and 2 teachers killed are still grappling with their devastating reality. each of these women lost a daughter that day. >> it's hard waking up every morning and knowing that she's not going to yell at me from her bedroom you know, it's hard walking into our house, and there's nobody in our house anymore, and we just want it to stop, and i don't know how to make it stop. >> reporter: veronica lost her 10-year-old tess. kimberly's daughter lexi was also just 10 years old. gloria cazares lost her daughter jackie and niece annabell they are among the uvalde families pushing for political change and stricter gun laws what's it like when you hear there's been another shooting and it literally happens

almost every week? >> it's devastating, disappointing. it's disgusting. you would think sometimes you blame yourself you think that what you are doing, you are going to prevent somebody else's child from dying. >> i know a lot of you have decided to stay here, not move away. what has that been like >> i think it's more difficult. i hate this town i hate living here my daughter is here, though, so how do we leave? >> reporter: the robb elementary school building will be demolished the surviving students and staff now go to different schools. >> there's a lot to do here to try to move forward. >> reporter: gary patterson is interim superintendent for the district, a role he stepped into last november when he volunteered. >> what i tried to do right off the bat was try to reach out to the families and open lines of communication and make an attempt to re-establish some trust that had been lost in the aftermath. >> when parents ask you, are my kids safe, what do you tell them? >> i tell them this, i believe they're as safe as they can be.

we've progressed a lot rapidly with fencing and rekeying and securing our exterior doors, but there's still a lot of parents who don't feel safe. >> reporter: a community forever shaken by a uniquely american tragedy will the fight ever end, or will you constantly try to fight for reform >> i'll never stop >> yeah. >> yeah, we're never going to stop, and i don't think that there is a finish line in sight. >> reporter: tom llamas, nbc news, uvalde, texas. the pain as fresh there today as it was a year ago we'll take a break and be back in 60 seconds with target's pride month problem. why the megaretailer is pulling some products from shelves amid threats and backlash

a controversy over pride month products is causing headaches for retail giant, target it says safety is behind its decision to halt some sales. miguel almaguer explains

>> reporter: tonight, target, one of the nation's largest retailers, is pulling some products that celebrate pride month off store shelves. citing threats to employees, the company says, given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior. >> okay, these are, like, naked people in shirts. >> reporter: the retailer removing lgbtq brand abprallen from their stores and website whose products featured satanic themes target also reportedly reviewing its adult collection of tuck-friendly swimsuits that allows trans people who have not had gender-affirming operations to conceal their private parts. those items have been at the center of misinformation >> the misinformation here was that kids were being targeted with this stuff. they realized that if they can threaten enough people, if they

cacan scare enenough people in real-life locations, maybe support for the lgbtq community will diminish among corporations >> hi. impressive carrying skills, right? >> reporter: target is hardly the only corporation under attack last month after a transgender influencer promoted bud light, conservative commenentators andnd some cecelebrities s called foror a boboycott. sales slumped nearly 30%. >> i think there's this really small group who has an outsized voice at this moment in time, and it's of hate, and it's of discrimination, and it's violent. >> reporter: tonight, corporatioions and contntroversy wiwith pride month daysys away. miguel almaguer, nbc news still to come, why is there so much seaweed washing ashore in florida we'll tell you where it's coming from and how beach authorities are working to get it under control.

we're back with a climate challenge. the massive fields of seaweed washing up across parts of florida, mexico, and the caribbean. it's a turnoff for tourists, and experts say, there's more of it than ever we sent sam brock to the florida keys to find out why >> reporter: spread out over large stretches of the atlantic ocean, roughly 5,000-mile-long belts of seaweed called sargassum. in the florida keys, we set off with dr. brian lapointe of florida atlantic university to learn more about the plant life he's been studying for 40 years, which is now having a moment >> we've never seen so much sargassum early

in the season, and so we are expecting this could be a record year >> reporter: in the ocean, the seaweed is a critical sanctuary for marine life. >> i like to call it a fish factory it provides habitat and nutrition for fish >> reporter: but out of the water, it can decay and rot creating an unpleasant smell for beachgoers satellite imagery showing its presence across the hemisphere. the question now, why is it growing so quickly? lapointe uncovering a connection between chemicals like nitrogen found in fertilizer and human waste, and sargassum those chemicals, which fuel its growth, are increasingly transported into our waterways due to extreme weather events driven by climate change how have chemistry changes fueled the growth of this >> we have seen a 35% increase on average in this nitrogen content, so more nitrogen, more growth. >> reporter: sargassum has been around since

humans have been exploring the ocean, but in recent years, there's been an explosion of it really starting in 2014 in 2018 there were 22 million tons, last year, a record 24 million tons, and this year, projections show it could be another record depending on wind direction, the seaweed can be either a nonfactor on beaches or stacked by the feet many local governments like miami-dade's have been proactive in cleaning up the clumps and blending it with the sand with a price tag of $4 million a year >> it is a lot of money, but, look, our environment is our economy here, so it's money well invested. >> reporter: mayor daniella levine cava says the county is soliciting ideas for alternative uses and wants people to know the seaweed is safe. >> the beaches are open they're beautiful. >> reporter: back on the boat, lapointe continues his lifelong exploration with one plain fact staring us in the face, expect more of this, not less in the future? >> yeah, and this is what we're seeing. >> reporter: sam

brock, nbc news, summerland key, florida. and up next for us, how one of the hardest chapters of tina turner's life propelled her remarkable comeback. ♪ yeah, w we're rolliling rolling,g, rolling o on the ririver ♪

finally, we're celebrating the life of the legendary tina turner joe fryer now with how the icon and outspoken survivor empowered millions through music.

>> reporter: in her iconic song, "the best," tina turner was offering praise to someone else. ♪ you're simply the best ♪ ♪ better than all the rest ♪ >> reporter: now the world is redirecting those words right back at her that includes love from mick jagger writing, she helped me so m much when i w was young, a and i will never forget her you see, tina once took credit for teaching jagger some of his famous moves. ♪ oh, what's love got to do, got to do with it ♪ >> reporter: her life was an inspiration divided into two parts, an abusive relationship, which she escaped, paving the way for a long run as a hit-making grammy winning superstar, though she could never fully escape the pain of the past. >> some people called me foolish woman i think it took a smart woman to live with a man and to live in that situation. that's the credit i give myself. ♪ rolling, rolling, rolling on the river ♪

>> reporter: yet, tina flourished finding success in every corner of pop culture. ♪ dancing with oprah, starring in a blockbuster movie, "mad max beyond thunderdome," inspiring a broadway musical and selling out all those kinetic concerts ♪ ask me how i feel ♪ >> i want my crowd to leave up and really feeling all right, i think i might want to go walking, or i might want to go partying some more, or i might want to do anything. i like to leave them laughing and feeling optimistic ♪ we don't need another hero ♪ >> reporter: joe fryer, nbc news. >> i know what i'll be listening to on the drive home that's "nightly news" for this wednesday thank you for watching, everyone i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night, everyone ♪ you're simply the best ♪

♪ i wish that i could fly into the sky ♪ ♪ so very high just like a dragonfly ♪ ♪i'd fly above the trees over the seas ♪ ♪in all degrees ♪to anywhere i please ♪ ohhhh ♪i want to get away ♪i wanna fly away ♪ (yeah yeah yeah)

♪ i want to get away ♪ i wanna fly away ♪ (yeah yeah yeah) ♪ let's go and see the stars ♪ the milky way or even mars ♪ ♪ where it could just be ours ♪ let's fade into the sun ♪ let your spirit fly ♪ where we are one ♪ just for a little fun ♪ oh oh oh yeah ♪ i want to get away ♪ i want to fly away ♪ yeah yeah yeah ♪ i want to get away ♪ i want to fly away ♪ yeah yeah yeah

[cheers and applause] >> welcome to the kelly clarkso show. give it up for my band. it can come to you anytime and anywhere, it's one of the coolest thing about making music . i am very very excited because the man who cowrote and produce one of my early singles, this i the first writing session ever, i was terrified and he wrote thankful with me on my first album. he is with us today. he's created countless hits for himself as well as artist like whitney houston, madonna, beyoncé, michael jackson. the list is as long as they show . i knew his music and was still shocked at how many songs. it's incredible.

he has got over two dozen r&b number one singles, 12 grammy awards to his name. and we are celebrating him as part of like history month. his new single is called as a matter-of-fact. his new single, girls night out is out right now. give it up for kenneth babyface edmund. [cheers and applause] >> kelly: you seem like really shy, it is so funny because you are so famous.

you have written so many amazin songs. your member the first on your right? you the verse on the right was in first grade, here i go falling in love again. >> you were this guy and the si grade? can get i was like right in sic for a bird i saw a girl and fel in love with her, i used my guitar, cousin, i picked it up and learn some chords and wrote the song for her. she never heard it. >> you never played it for her? again it was the first song i wrote for her, i wrote two song for her. it was in sixth grade, and eighth grade she broke my heart. >> well where is she now? >> i wrote my second song, the bitter taste of life. >> do you feel like, i feel lik certain stances like that i hav something similar that i was younger that happened to me i can still go back to that place and use that fuel to write. >> that's what i use so many times with writing songs.

>> because when you are so young , and it is so fresh and passionate. people think they're too young to feel, but you feel everythin when you are young. >> you feel it in such a big way . in your not jaded at that point. babyface has a many incredible songs, so much music to pick from, your career is incredible we couldn't let you come here without singing, so this is songs and stories. [cheers and applause] the first song i want to ask about it goes back to your roots , so when can i see you, where did that come from? everybody is so excited. >> that is, i forget it was before, but i wanted to go back to my roots which is the inclusive guitar. here i go finding love. i wrote everything on the guitar . after that point i did everything on the keyboard so i wanted to go back to the basics. i wasn't sure that would work i

r&b, but boy did it. congratulations. it works really well. you've brought a guitar, a really beautiful one from the super bowl, do you want to play a little? you mind? i don't know if i'm going to count on this one because this is my childhood dream just to hear you do it, but i might. i'm going to let the lord tell me. >> what am i doing? >> this is my dream. it is about me. ♪ ♪ when can my heartbeat again. ♪ windows the pain ever and. ♪ when do tears start running over. ♪